Without Faith I Have Nothing
by MichelleJoy
Summary: Being caught up in a prison break and being pursued by dirty goverment agents was the last thing Emily Vaccaro ever thought she would say about her adult life. Rekindling an old romance in the midst of it all was just a small perk.-I only own Emily.
1. Chapter 1

**PROLOGUE **

I carefully slid onto the barstool a few feet away from the boy- now man- I had grown up with, and whose older brother I had been enamored with during most of my youth.

I nodded to Jake, the bartender, who knew my usual- Jack and Coke. With a sideways glance to my right, the corners of my lips curved into a sly smile. Michael was staring straight ahead, eyebrows crinkled as always while he sipped on his beer. He knew I was by him, the ghost of a smile present on his lips giving it away.

"Emily," he greeted, his smile only growing a fraction as he tipped his bottle up to his lips.

"Michael," I said back, shamelessly grinning to him. He shook his head lightly while placing his beer onto the sticky counter top.

"Not that I don't enjoy your…quirkiness, but I do have to ask what's got you so giddy tonight," Michael smirked and stared me down with his icy blues.

I rolled my eyes at his serious tone…not that he has any other tone of voice. Mr. Hot Shot Structural Engineer has had a wad in his pants since his late teen, and it sometimes drives me nuts.

"Oh, just this new job I got," I informed nonchalantly while sipping my drink.

"That's great, Emma, but I though you loved the clinic you were at?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, I know I did, but sometimes an opportunity comes along that you can't pass up," I smiled.

Michael narrowed his eyes slightly. "I'm not following," he laughed. "Is there something I'm supposed to get?"

"Okay, first of all don't call me Emma," I said joking fashion, although I meant it.

"Sorry," he apologized with a sigh, knowing where I was going with that.

"Michael, my new job is at Fox River. They needed another doctor, and I interviewed last week. This morning they called to inform me I was hired. I will be working at Fox River," I admitted in a low voice.

A look of astonishment crossed Michael's face before he smiled at me. I knew this smile; it was the smile of the mischievous little boy I used to know.

"Mike," I said warningly. "What-"

"Em, I could really use your help with something," he said.

I don't know what it was. If it was the look in his eyes, or the fact that I owed him one…or more like five, but I found myself agreeing to meet him the next evening.

Never in my life would I have thought that Michael was in the midst of planning a breakout; specifically, a plan to break his brother out of Fox River.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter one.

"Here are the files to the new inmates; they'll be in this afternoon. If you want to look them over, that would be great."

I looked up at the slim burnet doctor as she dropped a few files onto my desk, her attention preoccupied with someone's files or a chart of some sort. I rolled my eyes. Typical of her.

"Sure thing, boss," I quipped jokingly. My co-worker, and recently new friend, Sara looked over the top of the file in her hands and met my eyes. She gave me a sarcastic look as I smiled cheerfully back at her. Sara shook her head and sat down across the room at her own desk.

I began to flip through the files she had tossed to me. Basically, all I had to do was check if any of them had preexisting conditions that needed medical attention on a regular basis. For example, if any of them were diabetic, seeing as they would need their insulin tested regularly etcetera, etcetera…

I stopped on the third file and had to force myself not to smile; _Back Number 94941, Michael Scofeild. _I looked at the date and shook my head in awe; April 8th, right on time. I couldn't help but stare at his mug shot that was paper clipped inside of his file. I almost wanted to laugh as gazed at his picture. His bright blue eyes were hard and narrow, and a ghost of a smirk was present on his lips. He almost looked like he new a good joke and wasn't going to tell you what it was.

But in a way I guess that was true. Over 6 months ago, when I first took the job at Fox River, Michael informed me of a plan he was concocting to break his older brother, Lincoln, out. I, of course, have always been a big sucker for excitement and stupid situations- not to mention the lingering feelings I still have for Lincoln- and I agreed to help Michael in any way I could from the inside.

I later learned, right before Michael cut off ties with me, that the only way to escape was through the infirmary; conveniently, my work place. He had also told me he would come up with a way to spend as much time as he could in the infirmary.

Obviously he came up with a good idea since his file read _Type 1 Diabetes_. I will admit that I might have hinted to him that idea, but that's kind of hush hush.

"You've been staring at that file for nearly 10 minutes."

I jumped at Sara's voice, forgetting she was across the room. I looked over at her and grinned cheesily.

"Take a lookie at this guy," I smiled and held up Mike's picture. "Pretty much a babe, right?" I tried to hold back my laugh at my own lameness. That was seriously the best excuse I could come up with, plus Michael certainly isn't a bad looking guy.

"You're ridiculous," Sara chuckled. "You're seriously checking out the inmates?"

I shrugged. "I can't deny when I see a good lookin' man; I'm not saying I want to wait for their sentence to be up and then move into a quaint house in the suburbs of Chicago and raise two children named Olivia and Jonathan. I just want to look."

Sara stared at me for a moment, with wide brown eyes, before laughing. "You've thought about this before?" She asked in amusement.

"No," I lied with a smile. "I just came up with that." Actually, it had been my fantasy about what Lincoln and I could've had. That is, before he was set up for murdering the Vice President's brother and put on death row.

"You're funny, Em. Are you sure you should be in the medical profession?" She joked and she stood from her chair.

"As sure as I am that my last name is Vaccaro," I smiled. "Going to Sick Bay?"

"Yeah, I'll be back in an hour or so," she sighed while walking to the door.

"Good luck," I chuckled.

I wasn't long until there was a quick knock at the door. I glanced at the clock before opening the door. 1 PM; I smiled and nodded to the guard who uncuffed my patient. "Thank you," I said to the young guard and motioned my patient in and pointed towards the examination table. "You can sit there," I instructed while carefully shutting the door. I turned and rolled my eyes as Michael, who sat with his hands clasped in his lap while watching me intently.

"I would hug you if I didn't think three guards were outside the door; and knowing that at least one is watching," I said to Michael in a hushed tone while approaching the counter next to him and gathering some equipment. He stared at me silently, a small smirk on his lips.

"Listen," I said. "I know you aren't diabetic. And knowing that, I'm not going to give you your insulin shot today, okay?"

"Alright," Michael agreed while taking a breath. "Why don't I feel good about what's coming next?"

"I won't be your regular doctor, Michael. They're going to change your appointment time to when I'm scheduled in Sick Bay," I sighed, pretending to sanitize his arm. I caught a brief look of frustration cross his eyes.

"Don't worry, Mike," I smiled. "Sara is going to be your doc, and I think you might like her. But, anyways if you want this to work then you need to find yourself some insulin blockers, called PUGNAC, or else Sara will find out you aren't really diabetic."

"How am I supposed to find those?" he asked quizzically.

I shrugged, "That, my friend, is up to you. I'm sure you can meet someone with some ties in this joint."

He sighed and nodded, "Alright."

I grabbed Michael's arm and briefly inspected his tattoos. "Nice ink," I chuckled lightly. "I'm not even going to ask about it."

"Good, 'cause I wasn't going to tell you," he smiled.

"You've got a lot to do in a month, Mike," I sighed while glancing at the calendar pinned to the wall. May 11th was Lincoln's execution. Just over 4 weeks away. Michael paused for a moment before quietly asking, "Have you seen Linc at all?"

"He's done one hell of a job at avoiding the infirmary for the past 6 months," I informed with a light laugh. "I know you'll probably see him before I do, um, so when you do could you tell him I'm here? I'd like to see him."

"I can do that," he said with a light smile. "Do a favor for me, though?"

I looked up at him and nodded, "Of course." Mike reached into his jumpsuit and slipped an origami crane into my hand.

"Slip this into the drain below the sink in the corner," he instructed while motioning with his head towards the corner of the room. I glanced over at the drain before nodding.

"I got it covered," I smiled as Mike stood from the examination table. I walked him to the door and turned to him as I placed my hand on the knob.

"Stay safe, Mike," I said quietly. He smiled and nodded as I opened the door and handed him back over to the guard.

I sighed as I closed the door back up and fingered the paper bird in my coat pocket. Looking around, I made sure no one was looking in as I hurried towards the drain and crouched down by it. I pulled out the bird and carefully slipped it through the metal cover and watched it fall into the darkness. I bit my lip, thinking about why in the world Michael would need me to do that.

_"Michael!" _

_ I stopped walking with my friends as I saw him duck into the hallway. I bit my lip and glanced between him and my two friends who had stop to raise their eyebrows expectantly._

_ "I'll catch up with you guys later," I sighed. They walked away with an eyebrow, getting an attitude because I was leaving them to talk to a freshman._

_ "Mike, hold up," I called and approached him at a brisk pace. He hardly slowed from walking as I fell in step with him. "What's going on? I haven't seen you for a couple days," I asked while placing a hand on his shoulder to get him to stop walking. I sighed sadly as Mike turned to face me. I closed my eyes briefly before looking up at the bruise on his face. _

_ "Michael, what happened?" I asked with worry._

_ "Got into a little fight," he said. "Don't worry about it."_

_ I frowned and continued to stare up at him. I hadn't quite gotten used to the fact that I was 17 and had to look up at a 14 year old boy. "It wasn't your foster dad, was it?" I asked quietly._

_ "No," he shook his head._

_ "Promise?"_

_ Michael rolled his eyes. "I promise," he said. _

_ "When did you develop an attitude?" I joked. Michael cracked a smiled and couldn't help but chuckle._

_ "Do you want to come over to Lincoln's with me after school? He wants to see you and hang out," I told him._

_ "Yeah, of course I want to come over," he smiled. I reached up and hugged Michael tightly. I didn't care if we were at school and if my friends thought I was lame. Mike was the closest thing to a brother that I had and I loved him like one. _

_ "Listen," I said as I pulled away. "Try to not make a habit out of getting in fights."_

_ Mike laughed lightly and nodded. "I can do that," he said. _

_ "Good," I smirked. "Now, go to class and get good grades, okay?" _

_ "Okay," he rolled his eyes while walking away. _

_ I crossed my arms and watched as he turned the corner and sighed. I had made it my mission a long time ago that I would watch out for Mike. Especially now that his brother is out on his own, I'm kind of the only one around to keep him in line. _

As I walked into the infirmary the next day I smiled as I saw Michael exiting room 3, mine and Sara's room.

I winked at Michael as we passed each other and walked past Sara as she sat at her desk with her back to me. "Quite the cutie," I smiled as I opened up the supply cabinet.

"Prisoner," she reminded me, amusement evident in her voice.

"So?" I laughed. "Remember the talk we had before; you can look."

"There's something weird about him, though," she sighed while scribbling down notes in his file.

I paused for a moment before piling a couple more things in my arms. "Like what?" I asked curiously.

"Like when I gave him his test results back," she said lightly. "He seemed…relieved?"

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Michael to give everything away over something as stupid as that. "Huh," I said flatly. "That is odd. What was the test about?"

"Just a blood glucose test, to check that he was actually diabetic." Sara sighed and shook her head. I froze for a moment before I remembered that she said he had looked relieved. Obviously he had taken my advice and found some PUGNAC. "I suppose I've seen weirder people than him," she sighed lightly.

I had to laugh at that. "Uh, yeah I would have to agree. I mean, we work in a prison," I told her while walking back towards the door. "If relief was the weirdest thing you've seen, I'd be worried."

Sara stood up suddenly and I stopped to raise an eyebrow at her. "I'm going to Sick Bay, do you want me to take those things for you?" she asked.

"Yeah," I answered quickly. "Please, take 'em." I handed over the things Katie had asked for and smiled. "Thanks, Sara."

"No problem. I'll be over there for a little bit, if you want to take over here for me," she said while opening the door.

"Sure thing, Boss," I joked. Sara rolled her eyes at me before leaving and closing the door behind her.

One thing I should probably admit is that I'm kinda lazy. I never used to be, it's actually something that I've only acquired while working here. Pretty early on I realized is that I shouldn't work harder than I need to, and to try and not get too attached. And why should I, since in a month's time I won't even be working here anymore? Plus, if I play my cards wrong I'll probably be a wanted criminal.

Hooray for the friends I've made in my life.

I shook the thought out of my mind and began to clean Sara's desk for her. The least I could do for her. Anyways, busying myself was better than being bored and worrying about events that may or may not occur next month.

I had just exited the room when the elevator outside opened showing Michael, being held upright by two CO's. "We need some help here!" They shouted while pulling Mike out of the elevator with them.

"Take him up in three," I instructed sternly. I followed behind the CO's as they brought Michael into my room and helped him onto the examination table. He had his fists clenched and covering his face, trying to hide his pain.

I pulled on a pair of gloves and looked over to the guards. "Thank you," I told them. "I've got it from here." I rolled my eyes as they hesitated from leaving. "I've got it, thanks," I said more firmly. One of the CO's nodded and tossed one of Michael's boots to the floor before they both left. I watched them leave before quickly turning back to Michael; his sock was seeping with blood.

"Shit, Michael," I swore. "Let's take a look." I went with cutting his sock off, trying to take the route with less pain. As I glanced up at him I saw tears running down his face and felt my heart leap into my throat. I sighed as he tried to stop me from removing his sock.

"It's okay," I said softly while looking up into his eyes. "It's just me, Michael, I've cleaned up your wounds plenty of times when we were little, right?" I said lightly, a small half smile on my face. He shut his eyes briefly while he nodded.

I finished cutting off his sock and my jaw dropped. I used the back of my arm to cover my mouth as I tried not to swear. Michael looked down and let a few big tears flow from his eyes at the sight of his two little toes missing. He laid back on the stretcher and covered his face again with his hands.

I silently did what I could to clean and sanitize his wounds before wrapping up his foot. "Michael," I asked gently while placing my hand on his arm. "What happened?"

Michael looked up at me and took a deep breath. I saw him swallow before answering me. "Nothing," he said.

"Michael, this isn't nothing," I argued lightly. "Please, I need you to tell me what happened."

"Emily, don't make me lie to you," he said painfully. I looked at him in surprise. "Please," he said quietly.

"Fine," I whispered. "Okay."

I noticed Bellick out in the hallway and excused myself from Michael. I exited the room and followed him as he started to walk away. "Bellick," I called out. He stopped and turned to me, taking off his cap.

"Look, I think you should have Internal Affairs get an investigation going," I told him while holding out an empty report to him. I quirked an eyebrow as he glanced down at it, but made no move to take it.

"There's no need for that," he said gruffly. "We know what happened."

"Oh, well maybe you'd be kind enough to enlighten me then," I said smartly while crossing my arms.

"There was a pair of gardening shears left on the floor in the shed. Apparently, he stepped on them," Bellick answered, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly at me.

"Oh, so the blade cut through his boot, huh?" I asked, knowing damn well he was lying.

"Yeah," he answered, clicking his jaw.

"So why wasn't the boot still on his foot?" I challenged.

Bellick flashed me a frigid smile. "Like I said, doc. We've got it taken care of," he smirked while placing his cap back on. "Let's go," he ordered to the other CO's. I kept my arms crossed as I glared at the back of his head while he walked away.

I hate that guy.

I took in a frustrated breath before entering the infirmary once more. I put my hands on my hips and gave Michael a hard glare. "I thought I told you to stay safe?"

"I am," he muttered from behind the arm that was thrown across his face.

"Oh yeah, so safe that you're missing a couple toes," I said sarcastically. "Jesus, Mike, you've only been in here a few days."

"I've made some enemies," he said lightly.

"Yeah no shit," I said sarcastically while swiveling my chair beside him. "Listen Michael, I do not want to see you in here for anything else but for insulin. Okay? I don't even want to hear about anything else."

Michael turned his head towards me and rolled his eyes. "You really think that you can make me promise that?" he asked.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," I nearly hissed. "I am being serious."

"So am I," he replied with a hard tone.

"Look," I said quietly. "If you really want to get Lincoln out of here, you need to stop with the enemies and try to not get in any more fights."

"I can try," he said sincerely.

"That's all I ask," I told him with a half smile. "Otherwise, the next time you get rushed in here with toes missing, I might just kill you myself."

Michael gave me an amused smile. "I'll remember that next time I come in contact with gardening shears," he chuckled.

I finally had to discharge Michael and let him be sent back to GenPop, even though I was more than hesitant to do so.

Sometimes, I wonder if this plan of his is worth it. Lately, I've been wondering if Michael is going to get himself killed in the process of freeing his brother. I always try and shake that thought out of my mind; if that happened then I would really truly be alone in this world with no hope left.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter two.

I quickened my pace through the parking lot as I tried to search for my ID badge in my purse. I was running late, like I usually was. For some reason I had a hard time being early for things. Things that someone should really be early for, like their job.

I snatched my ID out of my purse and looked up, preparing to make a run for the entrance when I noticed a familiar head of black hair and nearly stumbled over the curb.

"Veronica?" I asked curiously. The nicely dressed woman turned around and I felt my eyes nearly bug out of my head.

"Emily?" she asked back, a similar expression on her face. "What're you doing here?"

"I work here, in the infirmary," I explained. "What're _you_ doing here?"

"I'm representing Lincoln now," she said. "We're working on an appeal."

"Huh," I murmured to myself. "That's really cool, Veronica. I'm happy to hear that." It may not have sounded like I felt that way, but seriously I was happy she was trying to help him out. He needed all the help he could get. I just found it odd that she all of the sudden decided to help after 3 long years.

"Yeah," she nodded. We stood there awkwardly for a moment before I clicked my tongue and motioned towards the entrance.

"Well, I'm about to be late for work," I said with a fake chuckle. "It was good seeing you, hope everything goes well with Lincoln."

Veronica gave me a tight smile and waved. "Bye Emily," she said lightly. I waved back before getting inside as quickly as possible.

That was probably one of the most painful encounters of my life. Veronica Donovain was a girl a girl I had grown up with, along with Michael and Lincoln. She was a year older, which made her a year younger than Lincoln. We haven't gotten along since…well probably since our early teenage years. And, it's not my fault we weren't friends because I seriously tried. Veronica just happened to be a very selfish girl.

_I jumped as a hand came out and shoved my locker closed, causing a loud clang. "What's your problem?" _

_ I turned to see Veronica staring at me expectantly. Her blue eyes were hard and angry. "Well?" she asked while placing her hands on her hips. "Are you brain dead or something?"_

_ I tried to hold back a laugh as I stared back at her. "What're you doing, Veronica?" I asked calmly._

_ "Putting you back in your place," she replied._

_ "Well, nice try," I smiled while trying to move around her._

_ Veronica scowled and moved in front of me. "I don't think so," she said._

_ "What the hell?" I asked. "What is this about?"_

_ "What do you think?" she replied rudely. I shrugged with wild eyes._

_ "If I had an idea, you think I would've asked?" I said sarcastically._

_ Veronica rolled her eyes, "It's about Lincoln."_

_ "Oh, dear God," I muttered while crossing my arms. "Why won't you just move on? We're dating now and you can't really stop it."_

_ "I'm not gonna watch you wrap him around your little finger-"_

_ "Why, because you want him around yours?" I nearly shouted. "You're the crazy one here, not me. You're just a jealous girl-"_

_ "And you're an immature child!" she shouted angrily. "And I will make sure Lincoln sees that!"_

_ "Do you want to get punched in the face?" I seethed. "Because that's what's going to happen in about 5 seconds!"_

_ "Hit me!" she urged. "I dare you."_

_ That had probably been the worst thing Veronica could've said in that situation. I had a slight temper, and when provoked, it usually ended in a similar fashion. I had punched Veronica in the face. I didn't break anything, but she sure had a nasty bruise for a week or so. Sure, I felt kind of bad after it happened, but she never talked shit to my face again after. _

_ I think it might've been that incident that caused us to be a bit more civil to each other, but I know for a fact that Veronica still went behind my back to Lincoln every chance she could. She relentlessly tried to get Lincoln to break up with me. _

_ He never did, though. _

"Hi, Katie," I smiled and waved as I traded the receptionist my Almond Joy bar for her bad of Skittles. It was a regular deal that we had and I almost felt childish for it. But, even 30 year olds are aloud a preference of candy.

Katie smiled and waved back as she passed me down the hallway. I wouldn't say Katie and I are bff's; actually we could barely be called friends, but she was nice and I liked being able to talk with her when Sara was unavailable to do so. Actually, I'd say her and Sara are better friends than Sara and I are. But, then again, Katie had been working here a hell of a lot longer than I.

I quietly entered room 3; knowing Sara probably had a patient. As I looked up I nearly choked on the skittles I had been sucking on. Sara turned from her patient and quirked an eyebrow at me.

"You okay?" she asked while turning back.

"Yeah," I replied hoarsely while trying to keep the blush off my face as her patient smirked at me. I sat down at my desk and easily poured the rest of my skittles out and began to sort them by color.

"Emily," Sara spoke as she stood and pulled off her gloves. I looked up at her expectantly.

"I have to go run a couple of tests," she spoke while grabbing a couple swabs from off the counter. "Will you finish up for me?"

I looked up at her with wide eyes and smiled kindly. "Of course," I said quickly. "Go ahead, I've got this covered."

Sara smiled and thanked me before leaving the room. I swiveled in my chair and faced her patient with a smile.

"Emma," he said lowly, a half smile on his face. I sighed as I stared back at him. My stomach dropped significantly and I thought I might've wet my pants a tad.

"Hello, Lincoln," I said back with a light smile. I turned back to my desk and grabbed the small pile of green skittles.

"Give me your hand," I instructed lightly as I approached him. Lincoln quirked an eyebrow at me but stuck his hand out anyway. I dropped the green candy into his palm and grinned.

"You remembered," he said with a smile while glancing between me and his hand.

"How could I forget?" I chuckled as I watched him toss a few into his mouth.

"I was hoping you'd forgotten all about me," he muttered lightly. I looked up at him and shook my head lightly.

"You're not the kind of person someone forgets about," I told him earnestly. I turned and grabbed his file off the counter. "A physical, huh?" I half smiled and tried to not think about the heat rising up my neck.

"No need to blush," he said with a deep chuckle. "You missed out on the fun part."

I choked back a laugh. "Well, maybe if I had known in advance, I could've saved Sara from an awkward situation," I smirked.

Lincoln shrugged. "I think she handled it rather well," he said with a faint smirk

I stared at him for a moment and smiled nervously. "I've been trying to prepare myself for what I'd do when the moment came that I'd see you," I told him with a light chuckle. "…I knew you'd wind up here eventually."

"Quit biting your lip," he told me, amusement evident in his eyes. I rolled my eyes at him; he always hated when I did that. I stepped up closer to him and made sure the privacy screen was pulled over.

I placed my hands on top of his, making mine look significantly small in comparison. "How've you been?" I asked seriously, looking down and watching while I moved my finger tips along his rough skin.

"As good as a guy on death row can be," Lincoln muttered as he brought his head down by mine. He unclasped his hands and wrapped me in a hug.

I hugged him back tightly as I buried my face into his neck. He still smelled the same even after all of the years that have past. I willed myself not to cry and I continued to cling to him.

"Michael said he's seen you a couple times since he's gotten here," he said; his chest vibrating with his voice.

I chuckled lightly and pulled away. "I have," I smiled. "What else has Mike said to you?"

Lincoln sighed and glanced over his shoulders before looking me dead in the eyes. "He said he's going to break me out," he said quietly.

I smiled knowingly at him. "I know," I told him. "About 6 or 7 months ago when Michael found out I got a job here, he recruited me in his little plan."

"You agreed to help Michael with doing this," he spoke to himself, his eyebrows shooting up in surprise. "Why would you do that?"

I brought my hand up and gently touched the side of his face. "I'm not going to watch you die for something I know you didn't do," I told him softly. Without taking his eyes off mine Linc grabbed my white lab coat and tugged me closer to him.

I could feel his breath on my face and I gently tilted my head up towards him. "Linc…" I said softly.

"Emma, I-"

My heart leapt into my throat as there was a loud knock on the door. I quickly stepped away from Lincoln and motioned him towards the door, where I noticed Bellick waiting impatiently outside in the hallway.

As I went towards the door Lincoln spoke up from behind me. "I'll come back soon," he said lowly. I placed my hand on the door handle and turned to look at him. I smiled softly up at him and nodded. "I hope so," I told him. I opened the door and reluctantly handed Lincoln back to Bellick, who cuffed him.

"What took you so long?" Bellick asked gruffly.

"What are you jealous, Brad?" I said sarcastically before closing the door on him as he glared back at me.

I went back to my desk and grabbed Lincoln's file. I flipped it open and began to read over Sara's notes and nearly passed out as I did so.

_Weekly check ups until execution,_ I read with wide eyes. _Every Tuesday at 12:35. _I scrambled through the file cabinet until I found Michael's and whipped it out. I scanned the notes in his file until I found his appointment time.

"1PM," I mumbled to myself before letting a small smile run across my lips. I know this may not mean anything to you, but it means the world to me.

I glanced behind me as there was a quick knock at the door. I rolled my eyes and shuffled through the files on my desk. "What can I help you with, Bellick?" I asked disinterestedly without turning to face him.

"Well, Emi-"

"Dr. Vaccaro," I interrupted.

"Listen," he cleared his throat. "A few of us are going Vince's after our shifts are over. You know that bar a couple miles down the road…"

I turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "You really thought to invite me?" I asked blankly. Bellick let a small half smile grow on his face as he wrung his hat in his hands.

"Of course I thought of you," he chuckled. "I've heard you like a good time."

I narrowed my eyes at him and nearly gagged. "Y'know, Bellick, I'm not gay. But for you I would surely learn," I said with a sarcastic smile.

Bellick's smile dropped from his face as his eyes hardened. "Now, if you could please leave my office," I told him.

"You're going to regret that," he said lowly.

"Out, now," I said while pointing towards the door.

Don't think that I'm just a grouchy person, 'cause I'm not. Brad Bellick has made a job out of perusing me. Nearly every day I get to hear crude comments out of his mouth and at least once a week he tries to ask me on a date. I'm not sure how he hasn't gotten the hint yet, since I'm a crazy bitch to him. Today hasn't even been the worst.

I do have to applaud him for his ambition, though. I haven't seen persistence like that in a man before. Seriously.

I think he just needs to get a hooker. That should solve his problem pretty quickly.

"Was that Bellick that just walked out of here?" Sara asked with a light laugh while closing the door behind her.

"Unfortunately," I said with a sarcastic smile. "The guy just doesn't give up."

Sara laughed while sitting down behind her desk. "I'm sorry," she said while continuing to try and hold back her giggles.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Yeah, sure you are," I said. "Bellick making passes at me means that he isn't doing it to you."

"I know," she smiled. "Which, by the way, have I told you how happy I am that you work here?"

I let out a loud laugh. "Gee, thank you Sara. I'm really glad you enjoy my company," I joked.

"Whatever, Emily," she smiled. "You want to grab a bite after work."

"You bet your ass I do," I laughed. "Then I could actually tell Bellick I'm learning to be gay."

Sara stared at me oddly as I laughed to myself happily. "You wouldn't get it," I told her with a sigh.

"I'm not gay!" I nearly shouted at her as she raised a questioning eyebrow my way.

Sara cracked a smile and nodded, "I'm not one to judge what you do with your Saturday nights."

"Oh whatever, you don't want to know what I do on Saturday nights," I laughed. "It's boring."

And that's the truth. I spend my Saturday nights looking through photo albums and whishing life would've turned out how I wanted.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter three.

_"Lincoln," I giggled as he nuzzled his head into my neck. "Stop it!"_

_ "Make me," he grumbled lowly while nipping at my neck. I slipped out a couple more giggles as I pulled out of his grasp. "You're bad," I laughed while pointing a finger at him._

_ Lincoln shrugged indifferently. "So?" he asked while griping my waist and pulling me back towards him. I grinned and loosely wrapped my arms around his shoulders before planting a quick kiss onto his lips. _

_ "Guess what?" I asked quietly._

_ "What?" he mumbled as he glanced across my face._

_ "I'm graduating in a month," I said before throwing my head back and laughing happily._

_ Lincoln grinned and wrapped his arms tighter around my waist and lifted me off the ground. "Then what?" he asked._

_ "I don't know, but that's fine as long as you're in the picture," I grinned._

_ "Move in with me," he smiled._

_ "What?" I asked with large eyes._

_ "After graduation, move in with me," he said again. I let a large grin spread across my face before kissing him deeply. _

_ "Okay," I told him happily. I let out another giggle as I wrapped my legs around his hips, kissing him again. Lincoln easily moved us down the hallway and I screeched loudly as he dumped me onto the bed._

_ "Lincoln!" I laughed as he climbed over me. He stopped above me and smiled lightly. _

_ "I love you, Em," he told me softly. _

_ "I love you too, Linc."_

"Whatch you dreamin' about, sugar?"

I was startled by the thick southern accent; the hair on my arms stood at the underlying seduction of his tone. I straightened and turned around to face the well beaten convict lounging easily on his bed.

I glanced down at his file and grimaced. "First of all, Mr. Bagwell," I said forcefully. "It's Dr. Vaccaro. And I was just thinking."

Theodore Bagwell sat up swiftly, tugging his arm that was cuffed to the metal bar attached to the bed. "That surely was not a thinkin' face," he smirked. I turned and peered at him distastefully.

"Oh? Then what kind of face was it?" I asked with an eye roll as I jotted down a couple notes in his file.

"Well, Emily; may I call you Emily?" he asked, cocking his head to the side and peering up at him.

"You can call me doctor," I frowned.

"Well, Doctor Emily, you seemed as though you was dreamin' 'bout your man. Am I right?" Bagwell let a half grin reside on his face while he expectantly raised an eyebrow.

"Wrong," I muttered disdainfully while I moved across the room from him.

"You haven't got a man waitin' for you to come home so he can ravish you every night?" he asked lightly with a sigh. "What a lucky man he would be."

"My personal life is none of your business Bagwell," I told him.

"Yes, well, you see I've got this theory about you Doc," he smiled while waving around his finger. "You spend so much time here, sugar, one would think maybe…"

I turned to look at the man as he trailed off his thought. "Maybe what?" I snapped defensively. Theodore licked his lips again; his tongue was quick and reminded me of a snake.

"Maybe Doctor Emily's havin' a lovely affair with one of her patients," he mused with a pleased grin. I couldn't help stiffen at the accusation; how the hell could he know?

Theodore's grin grew a fraction as he continued to stare at me; the dark bruising under his eyes made them look harder as he narrowed his eyes. The look on his face caused a chill to run up my spine.

I pursed my lips and paced towards the door. I nearly threw it open, causing the guard to look over quickly.

"Bagwell's ready for his transfer back to GenPop," I ordered sternly.

"Oh, darn," Theodore chuckled lowly while swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "We was just startin' to get to know each other."

"You know nothing about me," I spat hatefully. "And you never will."

Theodore's grin grew even more as the guard uncuffed him from the bed and started to move him out of the room.

"See yous later, Doc," he sang with a laugh.

"What're you doing in here?"

I turned around, clipboard in hand, and smiled at Sara. "Hello to you too, Boss," I chuckled. Sara rolled her eyes but let a small smile slip.

"I decided to take my lunch later and came over to Sick Bay to check up on these guys," I smiled. "What're you doing here?"

"I got a call saying one of the inmates was suffering from a heat stroke," she said while looking at the 5 inmates.

"Oh," I said with a quick eye roll. "That was Jackson, he was faking. He already got sent back to GenPop."

"Figures," she sighed. "Well, why don't I help you finish so we can both get out of here."

I smiled and handed her Theo's file. "He's complaining that he needs more painkillers because he's still in pain from his knee surgery," I informed her.

"Got it," she chuckled and turned to check on him.

I turned back to my patients and sighed. "We're going to get some fluids into you and you'll be good as new," I told and patted his arm. I looked and him and sighed as he stared back at me. "Nod your head if you believe me," I instructed. He sighed and nodded his head halfheartedly.

"Good man," I chuckled before turning away to my next one.

I laughed as I passed Sara as she told Theo no more meds. "Don't look so sad, Theo," I laughed as I passed. I could feel his glare as I stopped at the next bed.

"Colby," I sighed to the extremely tall black man. "Why are you back?"

"_Inmates in the cell block are compromised; A wing is shutting down."_

I looked over to CO Jameson who was feet away from me and frowned as he looked at his Walkie talkie with worry. The inmates in the room with us started to holler and cheer with excitement at what their fellow inmates had accomplished.

"Hey, calm down," Sara ordered. "You guys aren't going anywhere."

I rolled my eyes and followed Sara into the examining room and sighed. "Can you give this to Davis?" Sara asked while handing me a shot of penicillin. I nodded and turned out of the room. As I exited the examination room the first thing I saw was CO Jameson on the floor. I gasped as I looked up; Colby was looking down at me with a wicked smile.

"What's up, Doc?" he chuckled. He reached out quickly and was able to wrap his hand around my throat and lift me up to my tippy toes. My eyes went wide as my air was suddenly cut off from his grip. I sputtered as I grabbed onto his arm and tried to pull down on it. When I realized I wasn't quite strong enough I squirmed to try and get from his grasp. Everything I was doing seemed to be unsuccessful.

Colby groaned uncomfortably and released me from his grasp as Sara stabbed him in the shoulder from behind with a needle. She reached out and grabbed my jacket and hauled me back into the examination room. I stumbled to the floor, gasping for air as she locked the door and began to push the desk in front of it for support.

Colby was on the other side in a heart beat, pounding on the window. "Come on, doc," he shouted loudly.

"You don't want to do this," Sara tried to reason. The other inmates from Sick Bay gathered behind the other windows in the examination room and slapped on what I was guessing was the plexi glass. I grabbed onto the examination table and pulled myself up as I coughed heavily.

"Hang on, Em, I'm going to call for back up," Sara said as she grabbed the telephone. She mumbled angrily as she pounded lightly on the phone a few times.

"Oh, god," I muttered helplessly as we both watched Theo hold up the broken telephone wire.

"We're sorry," he shouted. "This lines been disconnected."

I tried not to cry as I watched them destroy Sick Bay and turn everything upside down. This was the first time I could honestly say I thought I was going to die. I wrapped my arms around myself and backed up against the wall as Colby and Theo grabbed anything they could to smash against the window in the door to try and break it open; by this point it was already looking like a spider web.

I watched as Sara rifled through the drawers of the desk and pulled out a long needle. I moved forward and dumped out the trash and carefully sifted through until I also found one. I carefully placed it in the jacket, needle down. Theo smashed a small hole through the window and I flinched as the glass shattered.

My heart raced in anticipation as Theo tried to reach through the hole to unlock the door, but his arm wasn't quite long enough. Sara took the opportunity to jump forward and stab him in the hand with her needle.

I winced as I watched, that wasn't pleasant looking. Theo's eye widened as he screamed out and retracted his arm from the window, leaving himself cut and bleeding. "Son of a bitch," he cried. "That bitch stuck me."

Colby immediately took Theo's place and began to try and pound the hole bigger with the end of a fire extinguisher. I watched asked Sara discarded her needle and grabbed a hole puncher from the desk. I opened my mouth to ask what the hell she was doing but quickly shut it as she put it through a glass cabinet door.

"Jesus Christ," I whispered as I watched her use her jacket to pick up a large piece of broken glass. I ducked down next to the examination table as Colby put as much force as he could into the window repeatedly while the rest slammed against the other windows.

There was so much noise and yet I wasn't listening to it. I couldn't. My heart was racing, and so was my mind.

Was I going to die today? And if I died, who would tell Michael and Lincoln or how long would it be until they found out.

Would anyone else be sad if I was gone?

I swore loudly as one of the cons tossed a burning phonebook through the hole in the window of the door. It was bigger, but not much for how much work Colby had put into it. The man laughed manically and went back to destroying the rest of sick bay with the others.

I went up to the burning book and tried to step it out as Sara continued to pound on the window and cry for help. I pursed my lips together and grabbed a trash can to place over the fire when Colby reached through the hole and grabbed the back of my neck. I felt the air rush from my lungs in fear as he pulled me closer to the door.

"It won't hurt real bad," he laughed. I squeezed my eyes shut but kept silent. "If you make it easy."

"If you make it hard…" he trailed off with a snicker before I felt his tongue reach my cheek. I nearly screamed, mostly from disgust, and grabbed the needle that I had placed in my pocket and stabbed him as hard as I could in the arm.

He let out a disgruntled yell and pulled away, giving me enough time to get away from the door. "Get back here!" he shouted while shaking the door handle. "Open the door!"

"Sara, Emily!"

I stopped and looked around the now smoky room. "Michael?" I asked disbelievingly. Sara was looking around frantically as well when I spotted a hand drop down from the ceiling and shook my head, thinking I was going insane.

"Up here! Grab my hand!"

My eyes traveled up the tattooed arm before I saw Michael nearly half poking out of the rafters. I grabbed Sara's arm and shoved her towards the examination table. "Up you go," I nearly demanded.

"Are you nuts?" she whispered to me.

"No," I said calmly before motioning to the inmates trying to break into the room. "Not unless you want to wait for them to break that entire window open."

"Right," she nodded before allowing me to help her up. She stood carefully and allowed Michael to take hold of her arm and help her climb up.

"Come on, Emily," Michael urged. I got myself up onto the table carefully and reached my arms up at Michael. He quickly grabbed my arms and pulled me up to the rafters.

"Holy shit," I sighed and sat back. The dust in the air caused me to cough a bit and gabbed onto Sara's arm tightly.

"We've gotta keep moving," he said in a rush. I whipped my head in his direction; my eyebrows nearly popping off of my face.

"Can't give a girl a minute to breathe? Jesus," I sighed. "We we're riding on the road to Deathville down there."

"Sorry," he said with an eye roll.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," I nearly barked. "Now's not exactly the time."

I straightened a bit when I saw Sara looking between us curiously. "Can you get us out of here? Like now?" I asked desperately, while ignoring Sara.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. "Follow me."

Michael got onto his feet and couched, basically crawling off. I got up and followed him, but glanced back when Sara didn't follow right away.

"Come on," I urged. She sat for a second before shaking her head and following behind us. I carefully climbed around the rafters behind Michael, and he would glace back occasionally at Sara and I.

You know, this wasn't in my job description. Having to arm myself against convicts as they tried to attack me; climbing around the rafters as an escape route…

Yeah, I should be paid extra for this shit.

"Hold on, I think I need a minute," Sara called softly. Michael and I stopped and sat back to look at her. I nodded and look a deep breath to calm my nerves. A break sounded nice.

"Yeah we can take a minute," Mike agreed and sat down next to me. "Things should be winding down around now."

"What's happening in A-wing?" Sara asked.

"All hell is breaking loose," he informed us regrettably. "But I think if we stay up here we should be okay."

"We can't really stay up here for ever," I muttered while running my hands through my hair. I groaned and shut my eyes tightly. "I can't believe this is happening."

"You ever been to Baja?" Michael asked suddenly after a moment of silence. I glanced over at him and rolled my eyes.

"No," I responded flatly while Sara looked at him with confusion.

"Mexico," he told her. She shook her head in response.

"Well, there's this great place there," he smiled. "20 buck a night, hammock on the back deck. Beers are 50 cents; 25 at happy hour."

Sara smiled at him; hell I smiled too at the thought of cheap alcohol right now. I would kill for shot right now. And not even a shot of anything specific, I just needed something to get this edge off.

"Ever been to Thailand?" was his next question after we remained silent. "Thailand is great."

"Is this supposed to be making us feel better right now?" I snapped. "Because right now it's making me kind of depressed since I've never been out of Illinois; you're terrible at this cheering up thing."

Mike stared at me for a moment before cracking a smile. "I know," he said. "But at least I'm trying."

The three of us were silent again for a moment before Sara spoke up. "Why are you here?" she asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, trying to come off as nonchalant.

"Crawling around in the ceiling, risking your life…"

"You guys needed help and I, uh, came to find you," he answered while avoiding eye contact with either of us.

"How did you know where to go?"

I tried to hold in my grimace. That was a very good question. Unfortunately, I knew the reason why Mike knew how to find us. And, I knew why Sara couldn't know.

"One of my first assignments on PI was coming up here to clean out toxic mold…it took days, so I'm kind of familiar with the lay out," he informed us. If I hadn't grown up with Mike, I'd have believed that to be the truth. He was the best liar I've seen so far in my life; a much better liar than his older brother.

"Hope you wore a mask," I told him while holding back a snicker.

"Excuse me?" he asked while slightly raising an eyebrow at me.

"To prevent inhalation," I smiled. "Mold can be pretty dangerous."

I forced my smile not to grow as I watched Michael close his eyes briefly, to prevent an eye roll I'm sure. "Yeah, I wore a mask," he said while getting back up and moving along.

I hurried up behind him with a smirk plastered on my face. Poor Sara, she had no clue what was going on.

"Pst," Michael whispered and waved for us to come closer to him. He pointed over and I followed until I saw that the inmates from Sick Bay were trying to poke up into the rafters.

"Come on," he rushed and began to move faster. Sara and I kept up with him until Theo's entire head poked up in front of us, causing the three of us to stop. I nearly shrieked as Michael picked his foot us and kicked Theo square to the face. Mike grabbed my hand and tugged me forward and I quickly picked up my pace and followed him, making sure that I looked back to make sure Sara was following.

My heart beat was going faster than I thought was possible as I hurried through the rafters while listening to the group of convicts shouting angrily in the hallway below us. Michael held out his arm and stopped Sara and I as we reached an opening. We looked down cautiously into the empty room and watched the small group of men buzz past with a ruckus. It was a moment later that Mike gave the okay.

He scooted down, finding a shelf on the wall to place his foot and then jumped. "Come on," he urged while holding his arms out.

I climbed down first, getting my footing on the shelf and jumped down the rest of the way with Michael's help. I let go of him quickly and moved aside as he did the same for Sara. I scrunched my eyebrows together as I watched Sara hold onto his shoulders a few seconds too long.

"Hey Fish."

I jumped and turned around and saw the man from Sick Bay who had choked me. He was staring at us with an evil grin. "You gunna keep those ladies to yourself?"

Sara pulled my into the open closet as Michael jumped on the guy from behind. Mike had the upper hand and had gotten the guy to the group when Theo appeared in the door way. I rolled my eyes as he tried to grab Mike from behind. I quickly came out of the doorway and kicked Theo's injured knee as hard as I could, sending him down to the ground screaming.

"Come on," Sara called as Mike put his guy down. I grabbed his arm and pulled him with me, following Sara out of the room.

"What was that?" I asked with as I breathed heavily. "The sleeper hold? Linc taught you, right?" I chuckled lightly as Michael smiled and nodded. We continued to run down the hallways behind Sara as she led us to what I was thinking was visitation. She ran around a corner and stopped suddenly, causing Mike and I to nearly crash into her.

"We can't go this way," she whispered as I looked around the corner to see our old friends from Sick Bay.

"There's another way," Michael spoke and motioned to where we had just came from.

"This is the only way to get through visitation," Sara argued.

"We don't have time," I told her.

"Just trust me," he almost begged. Sara pursed her lips and nodded, letting Michael take us running back down the hallways.

"I'm getting real sick of this running," I panted.

Michael and Sara ignored me and I rolled my eyes and pushed myself to keep going. We ran through what seemed to be an old storage room, since we were dodging around broken equipment and old dusty furniture, and finally came to a small room with windows and a door. I was guessing this was a personnel only type room. I glanced behind Sara and sighed in relief when I saw the door led to the yard outside.

"That's it," Michael said while shoving me towards the door. Sara stopped and looked back at Mike.

"We can't leave you here," she said quickly.

"You have no choice, I'm one of the bad guys remember?" he said with a light smile.

I rolled my eyes and frowned. "Joking about it isn't going to make us feel any better," I told him.

"What're you going to do?" Sara asked with concern flooding her face. Michael placed his hands on his hips and shrugged indifferently.

"Go back to my cell," he said. "Try to stay out of the way." My eyes widened as a red dot appeared on Michael's chest. I quickly glanced between him and outside.

"Michael," I said urgently when the dot didn't go away.

"What?" he asked quickly.

"They see us," I told him, tears nearly ready to spill over.

"You both have to go," he told us seriously.

"We can't, they're going to kill you," Sara told him quietly.

"You walk to the door, I'll drop to the floor," he sighed.

"Mike, they're sharp shooters," I said painfully. "They won't miss."

"That's why you two can't stay here," he insisted.

The three of us turned in surprise as our Sick Bay friends came around the corner. "What's goin' on?" they shouted while coming towards us.

"Go!" Michael shouted while giving Sara and I both a shove towards the door. Sara was first out and by the moment her feet met the walk way, shot began to shower the room. I tripped out of the room behind her and we didn't stop until we were behind the two SWAT members that were waiting for us.

I turned swiftly and tried to get the best look I could inside. I couldn't see anything. And, most certainly I couldn't see Michael.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 4.**

_ I stared silently out of the passenger window and watched the lights pass by as Lincoln drove us to Lisa Rix's house. She was supposedly having a huge party tonight and, apparently, we had to be there._

_ "What's up, Emma? You've been quiet all night," Lincoln spoke while reaching over and grabbing my hand. I looked over at him and gave him a smile as he softly brushed his thumb across my knuckles._

_ "It's nothing," I said quietly; nearly lying through my teeth. "I just haven't felt very well today."_

_ "We don't have to go to the party if you don't feel good," he offered, but I shook my head in protest._

_ "No," I smiled. "It'll be fun."_

_ "Just tell me when you're ready to leave and we'll go," he told me as we pulled into her driveway. _

_ I got out and shivered lightly from the cold night air as I stared at all of the cars lined down the block. "Jesus Christ," I mumbled as I met Lincoln in front of the car and allowed him to clasp his hand with mine. _

_ "She wasn't kidding," he chuckled. "This place is packed."_

_ I remained silent as I trailed behind Lincoln into the house, nearly being sent back by the noise. The only thing that kept me from being eaten alive by the crowds of people was Lincoln's hand over mine. He led me into the kitchen, which somehow seemed to be less crowded and noisy than the rest of the house. Linc stopped and gently tugged me towards him._

_ He leaned his head down towards mine and kissed my temple lightly. "You sure you're okay?" he mumbled into my ear._

_ I nodded and smiled up at him. "I'm fine," I lied. I jumped lightly as Lisa shouted my name loudly and ran up to us._

_ "Hey Lisa," I smiled and hugged her back as she threw her arms around my shoulders tightly. _

_ "I'm so glad you both are here," she told us with a wide grin. I grimaced lightly as she batted her eyelashes at Lincoln, but I put it off as her just being an overall flirt. Lisa quickly turned to me and grabbed my hand. "Do you want a drink? I've got Cherry Vodka."_

_ I shook my head hesitantly. "No thanks, not today," I replied nicely. _

_ Lisa tugged on my arm and motioned behind her. "Come on," she said. "Come with me."_

_ I gave Lincoln a last fleeting look as Lisa pulled me away and upstairs. I could tell he was chuckling as he shook his head and turned to grab a beer. _

_ "So, what's going on?" Lisa asked curiously while pulling us into her bedroom. "You don't seem yourself tonight."_

_ I sighed and sat on the edge of her bed and watched as she started to reapply her make up in the mirror. "I just haven't been feeling very well," I told her quietly._

_ Lisa pulled her mascara wand away from her face and looked at me. "Is that why you aren't drinking tonight?" she asked curiously and I responded by nodding my head._

_ "Oh my God, you're pregnant!" she cried, her eyes even wider than they normally were._

_ "No, I'm not," I said sadly as my chin quivered. "And that's the problem."_

_ Lisa put down her make up and fully turned to me. "What're you saying, Emily?"_

_ "I was pregnant," I told her while trying to keep my composure. "But I was so scared and I overheard this girl in the bathroom at school talk about this clinic she went to and-"_

_ I broke off my rambling as I began to cry, "I'm so ashamed."_

_ "I can't believe you," Lisa said quietly as she stared down at me. I looked up at her through my tears and let my frown deepen._

_ "Lisa-"_

_ "No, Emily, let me be blunt with you," she said flatly. "You and Lincoln are not a good match."_

_ My stomach dropped and I wiped at my eyes so I could get a clear look at Lisa's serious expression. "Lisa," I said, sounding more than desperate._

_ "No, let me finish," she said as she pointed a finger at me. "You're just a child, Emily. You have no direction for after high school; do you think that's what Lincoln needs? Or do you think he needs someone his own age, in college, with a bright future and a career?"_

_ "What, like you?" I spat hatefully._

_ Lisa's lips curved into a perfect smirk, "Well, you said it, not me."_

_ "How could you do this?" I said as I stood. "I thought we were friends."_

_ "You really think I'd be friends with a silly high school girl?" she asked with an airy laugh. I didn't say anything, only continued to wipe away my tears as they fell._

_ "Oh," she said while mocking me with a pout. "How sweet, you actually thought I cared about you."_

_ "You're an awful person," I told her quietly._

_ "No, I just know how to get what I want," she smiled. _

_ I looked at her in disgust before storming out of her bedroom and nearly running down the stairs. I almost collided with a few people because of the tears that were clouding my vision. I quickly moved through the thick crowd of people, trying to find Lincoln so I could get out of her. _

_ I stopped dead and felt my jaw fall slack as I saw Lisa talking quietly with Lincoln in a corner. How did she get him so fast? Lisa looked past Linc and stared me dead on and I swear her eyes turned red. I wouldn't be surprised since she is the spawn of Satan._

_ Lincoln turned and followed her gaze to me. The look on his face made my heart break even more than it already was. "Lincoln," I said through my tears as I tried to approach him. _

_ "Is it true?" he asked sharply. "Is Lisa telling the truth?" I whimpered lightly before squeezing my eyes shut and nodding._

_ "How could you?" he asked lowly. "You didn't even tell me." _

_ The tears came faster down my face as I stared back at him. "Lincoln, you don't understand," I choked out._

_ "What is there to understand?" he nearly shouted. "I can't believe you'd do this."_

_ I stuttered to find my words, but I had nothing to say. I knew nothing I would say could make this situation better. Lincoln shook his head and frowned before walking past me towards the front door._

_ "Lincoln," I cried while following him. I reached out for his arm and grabbed it lightly._

_ "Don't," I barked. I retracted my arm quickly and looked up at him with wide eyes._

_ "I'm done," he told me. "I don't want to look at you right now."_

_ I placed my hand over my mouth to keep back my sobs as I watched him storm to his car and peel out of Lisa's driveway. _

_ What the hell have I done?_

"Emily?"

I jumped and slammed the file cabinet closed before turning towards the door. "Katie," I said with a breathy laugh. "You scared me."

"Sorry," she said with an amused smirk. "I just was letting you know that Mr. Burrows his here for his weekly check up."

"Oh," I said while trying to keep my eyes from turning into saucers. "Thanks Katie, let him in."

Katie nodded and quietly stepped out of the room, Lincoln replacing her a moment later. "Hey, Linc," I smiled softly.

"Emma, what the hell happened to you?" he asked lowly while sitting down in front of me next to the counter.

I glanced down at myself in confusion before looking back up at him. "What do you mean?" I asked quickly.

"Your neck," he responded quickly while leaning forward in his seat and looking closer.

"Oh," I said, suddenly becoming self conscience. "I forgot about that." I turned away and grabbed my stethoscope and blood pressure cuff. It was true, I had forgotten about the slight bruising I had acquired around my neck from the grip that Colby had on it a couple days before.

"Emma," he persisted as I wrapped the cuff around his upper arm. "What happened?"

"It's nothing, Linc," I mumbled while putting on my stethoscope. Lincoln let out a frustrated sigh before he yanked my stethoscope off.

"Ow, Jesus," I hissed. I glanced out of the room and quickly pulled over the privacy screen. "There's no need to unleash the angry Rhino," I said sarcastically.

"Stop avoiding my question," he told me slowly. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Fine," I said through my teeth. "During the riot, the inmates in Sick Bay got a little out of hand; one more than the others."

"Who did it," he demanded.

"Oh, like I'm going to tell you," I told him with a sarcastic laugh. "I'm fine, so just get over it."

Lincoln rolled his lips together and looked annoyed as he allowed me to take his blood pressure. I sighed and let out the pressure and pulled off my stethoscope before jotting down in his file.

"Well, your BP is somehow normal," I joked lightly. I swiveled around to face Lincoln and stopped as I found him staring with his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"You shouldn't be here," he didn't hesitate to say. "Not working in a place like this, and not be in on this ridiculous plan. There's too much at stake for you."

"If something does happen to me, I won't regret what I've done," I told him honestly.

Lincoln shook his head lightly at me before sighing. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Yeah, of course," I nodded.

"I'm worried about LJ. I had this woman visit me today claiming to be a journalist. She told me if I didn't let go and accept what happened, that LJ was going to die."

My jaw dropped as I watched Lincoln. "Oh, my God," I whispered harshly. "Want me to kill her, 'cause I totally would."

"No," Lincoln rolled his eyes at me. "Can you call LJ or Lisa and check in for me…I'm really worried, Em."

"Yes, of course I will. I'll call as soon as I get off this evening," I told him softly while putting my hand over his and squeezing it.

"Thanks, Emily," she sighed and I smiled lightly.

"It doesn't sound right when you call me Emily," I said in amusement. Lincoln nodded and chuckled.

"You're right," he agreed. "I guess I'll just stick with Emma."

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by a knock at the door. I sighed and stood from my stool and reluctantly lead Lincoln to the door. Bellick scowled at me as I handed Lincoln over and I didn't hesitate to glare back.

"You've started to take a little long with your appointments, _doc_," he said with an attitude.

I rolled my eyes. "You're just made I wont let you take me out. Get over it," I said lowly while tightly shutting the door on his face.

I can't wait to be out of here.

At the end of the day I walked back into room 3 while slipping off my white coat. I was extremely burnt out after a long shift in Sick Bay. I looked up and paused, curiously gazing over at Sara at her desk as she flipped through a couple files.

"What're you looking at?" I asked while stepping towards her.

"Oh, nothing," she mumbled nonchalantly. I gazed over her shoulder and laughed.

"Stalker!" I said happily while quickly hanging my jacket on the coat rack. I stood back behind Sara as she shook her head while staring at Michael's file.

"I am not a stalker," she responded with a smile. "I just…I don't get it."

"Get what?" I laughed lightly. "What is there to get?"

"He just…doesn't fit the profile," he sighed while turning to look at me. "He's got a graduate degree; he lives in _my_ neighborhood…guys like that drink scotch and buy 200 Cubs season tickets."

"Well, maybe he couldn't afford season tickets and that's why he robbed the bank," I joked while gathering my belongings.

"Thanks, Emily, but I'm actually being serious," she sighed while sitting back in her chair.

"Can I ask you a question?" I looked to Sara as I slipped my coat on.

"Yeah," she mumbled.

"Why do you care so much?"

Sara didn't hesitate to answer. "'Cause he lied to me," she said dully.

"Sara," I sighed. "They all lie to us."

Sara looked up from her desk and met my gaze. "Maybe because he's the one guy in here that I can get to," she said with a shrug. "The one guy I can make a difference with."

I sighed and picked up my purse before turning back to her.

"You need to go home and get a good night sleep," I smiled. "You're going to drive yourself crazy by over analyzing a guy you don't know."

When Sara didn't say anything I sighed and moved towards the door to leave. I placed my hand on the knob and turned back to her. "Who knows," I said lightly. "Maybe he had a good reason behind what he lied about."

On the way home from work I decided to take a stop and get some ice cream from a local convenience store. Ice cream is a necessity at my place, and tonight sounded like a perfect night to veg out on the couch.

I quickly bee lined for the frozen section, but I stopped as I past a familiar looking boy. I did what seemed to be a triple take at him and didn't care that I was obviously staring. If I were 15 years old again I would be staring at Lincoln himself right now. I pulled my jaw off the floor and slowly approached the teenager. I stopped a few feet to his right and pulled a magazine off the rack and flipped it open.

"LJ," I said to him lightly while glancing over at him. He slowly looked over at me with scrunched eyebrows. I smiled lightly as a look of relief washed over his face.

"Emily," he said, sounding more than desperate. "Please, you gotta help me."

"Why, what's going on, LJ?" I asked with worry as I put the magazine back.

"I didn't do it," he whispered loudly, tears clouding his eyes. "I was set up-"

I looked at him in confusion as he tried to hold back his tears. "Its okay, LJ," I told him. "What happened?"

LJ chin quivered violently as he looked at me. "They killed my mom," he said quietly. My jaw went slacked as I stared back at him. I shook my head quickly and tried to ignore the growing pit of fear in my stomach. "Put your hood up," I instructed. "You're coming back to my place."

LJ nodded and secured the hood of his sweatshirt over his head. I glanced around the convenience store before putting my hand on LJ's shoulder and leading him out to my car.

"I've been trying to call Veronica, but I can't get a hold of her…it keeps going straight to voicemail," he said as he climbed into the passenger seat.

I glanced over to see him fidgeting with his cell phone and quickly reached over and took it from his grasp.

"Hey!" he cried as I proceeded to chuck it out of the window. "What the hell?"

"Listen, LJ. You're wanted for murder. Don't think they aren't tracking your cell phone," I told him. "I've got a disposable one at home that you can use."

He looked defeated as he slumped down in his seat. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "When we get to my place, I'll try calling Veronica. But for now, you're safe with me," I told him.

"Thanks, Emily," he said quietly.

"Don't worry about it," I sighed and smiled reassuringly at him.

"Veronica, it's Emily…Vaccaro," I said into the receiver with a light sigh.

I rolled my eyes lightly as I heard Veronica sigh in annoyance, "Emily, I can't really talk-"

"It's LJ," I interrupted. "I found him earlier and brought him back to my place."

"Emily, you need to send LJ to me," she said urgently.

"And where exactly would that be?" I asked curiously.

"New Glarus. Just get him a bus ticket here and I can take care of him from there," she explained impatiently.

"What the hell are you in New Glarus?" I asked in confusion. "That's, like, the middle of no where."

"It's not really any of your concern," she said. "Get him on a bus asap."

"That doesn't really sound like the best idea, Veronica," I said lowly while glancing over at LJ as he slumped deeper into the couch. I moved into the kitchen as I heard Veronica sigh.

"And why is that?" she challenged.

"Because," I said through gritted teeth. "The police, and God knows who else, are looking for him. He gets spotted at a bus station and he's done for."

"I'm the only one who can help him right now," she argued.

"Well until you come up with a better idea he's staying with me. Nobody will come looking for him here because we have no ties," I said sternly.

"You never listen to me!" she said angrily. "Even when we were kids, you never listened!"

"You always tried to control my every move, Veronica! And I'm not a kid anymore; I'm perfectly capable of making smart decisions, which is what this is. LJ is safe here, and this is where he's staying until you find a safe way to get him, okay?"

"Just wait until I tell Lincoln about this-"

"Go ahead," I said venomously. "Tattle to Lincoln like always. Call me when you decided to act like an adult."

I snapped my cell phone shut and took a few deep breaths before walking back out to the living room. I slumped onto the couch next to LJ and crossed my arms.

"Doesn't sound like that went over well," LJ said while glancing over at me.

"It never does," I agreed.

"Why don't you and Veronica get along?" he asked curiously.

"It's childish," I chuckled. LJ gave me a bored look. "Oh come on," he said.

"Okay," I laughed lightly. "When we were teenagers Veronica had a huge crush on your dad, but he didn't really want anything with her-"

"He liked you, right?" he asked with a half smile.

"Right," I nodded. "So then she tried bossing me around, since she was older, and would always try took make me look stupid in front of your dad."

"Things haven't really changed," I sighed as I looked at him. "She still treats me like a child for some reason."

"Why didn't anything ever happen with you and my dad?" he asked while turning to face me on the couch.

"We dated for a while when we were teenagers," I said with a sigh.

"Yeah, but why'd you break up?" he wanted to know. I smiled and chuckled lightly.

"You really want to know?" I asked and he nodded vigorously.

"Your mom," I smiled.

"What?" he asked in astonishment. "What happened?"

I stood up from the couch and smiled. "Another story for another day," I chuckled and ruffled his hair.

"You're going to be staying with me for a little while, is that okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. I smiled and grabbed a few blankets and pillows from the closet and placed them on the couch for him.

"Tomorrow I leave for work at about 6:30 in the morning. I can try and get back by 4, okay?"

LJ nodded as he laid a blanket over the couch. "I'll go grocery shopping on my way home and stock up on some food, since I've never had to feed a teenage boy," I laughed. "So just make yourself at home while I'm not here. And, please, please don't leave."

"I won't," he smiled lightly.

"Alright," I sighed and grabbed him into a tight hug. "Goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight," he smiled. "And thanks."

"Anytime, buddy."


	6. Chapter 6

I want to thank everyone who has reviewed! I mean, seriously. You guys are great. I'm sorry for the lack of updating, and this chapter is short and lame, but I wanted to get at least something out for those of you still reading!

A million thanks, you guys rock! :)

-MJ

* * *

><p><em>"I fucked up," Lincoln muttered while running his hands over his head. I stared at him as he sat at my kitchen table, thinking maybe we were going to finally get back together; finally be normal again.<em>

_ "What do you mean?" I asked curiously. Lincoln lifted his head from his hands and looked at me sadly. He glanced down and pursed his lips._

_ "She's pregnant," he sighed._

_ My jaw went slack as I continued to stare at him. My stomach was in my throat and I felt like I was hyperventilating. "Who's pregnant?" I asked slowly._

_ "Lisa Rix." _

_ "No," I said quickly. "No, you're lying." Lincoln looked up at me as I backed into the kitchen counter. He looked more than upset as he stood from his chair._

_ "Emma-"_

_ "Don't call me that," I gritted through my teeth._

_ "I didn't mean for this to happen," he tried to reason while stepping towards me._

_ "But she did," I told him as I tried to keep the tears from my eyes. "She got exactly what she wanted."_

_ "What're you talking about?" he asked in confusion._

_ "Do you know what she said to me that night at her party?" I asked him loudly. I didn't even give him time to respond before I went on angrily. "She told me that you and I weren't good for each other. She said that I was a child and that you needed someone who was in college and had a career and… someone like her!"_

_ "I've never wanted anyone besides you, Em," he almost shouted. "I wanted to have a family with you."_

_ "Yeah, well now you get a family with her," I yelled. _

_ "Just stop for a sec-""_

_ "Get out," I interrupted._

_ "No, Em, I lov-"_

_ "Get out," I shouted through my tears while pointing towards the front door. Lincoln's jaw hardened as he narrowed his eyes before storming out of the room and slamming the door shut behind him. _

I looked through the files on Sara's desk quickly; glad to see Michael was coming in next. I took scrap paper from the printer and wrote a simple note onto it.

_LJ is with me. Tell Linc. _

_ Call my disposable. _

I jotted down the number before skillfully folding the paper into a crane. I smiled at the bird with pride; no one would have guessed I was that nerdy kid in elementary school who was obsessed with folding paper. Or, that I spent quite some time teaching Michael when he was younger.

"Emily," Sara said in surprise as she entered the room. "You're still here?"

"Just running late to Sick Bay," I said in a hurry. I looked up from my desk and saw Michael approaching the room. I grabbed the crane in my hand and went to leave.

"See ya, Sara," I smiled and 'accidently' bumped shoulders with Mike. I slipped the crane into his hand before turning to look up at him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized with a broad smile.

"No problem," he smirked lightly while tucking his hand into his pocket.

It wasn't until I made it to Sick Bay that I heard the other doctors gossiping in low voices. I peeked into the office a listened on curiously.

"Wait, what about the break room?" I asked while folding my arms over my chest.

"Apparently it caught on fire," Adam, an RN, answered with a smirk. "Fire Chief said something about Billson cigarettes…"

The other doctor scheduled with me for the afternoon, Dr. McNeil, snickered lightly. "And we all know the one CO who chain smokes those," he smirked.

I let myself grin wildly. "Bellick," I answered on a happy sigh. "Today is starting to look much brighter, boys."

* * *

><p>"Hello?" I answered hurriedly, glaring back at a soccer mom as I blocked the cereal isle. I nearly pulled my hair out as a recording came on asking if I would accept a call from Fox River.<p>

"Yes," I answered impatiently.

It was a moment later that I heard his voice. "Emma?" he asked.

"Lincoln!" I nearly dropped the box of Frosted Flakes I had taken from the shelf. "I was expecting Michael."

"Mike said you've got LJ," he breathed.

"Yeah," I nodded to myself and chuckled lightly. "I found him yesterday…thought that I was looking at you 20 years ago."

"Is he with you?"

"Not at the moment," I shook my head. "I'm grocery shopping; He's at my apartment. He's fine though, I just spoke with him about 15 minutes ago. He's under strict orders to stay inside."

"Jesus, Em. What did he say happened?"

"I didn't ask. I figured we talked about it tonight maybe," I sighed while shoving every imaginable kind of chip in my cart. "I didn't want to stress him out last night, he had a rough day."

"Have you talked to Veronica at all? He's going to have to lawyer up eventually."

"Yeah," I sighed. "I got a hold of her last night. She's in New Glarus, so I told her LJ stays with me until she can get him safely."

There was a pause before Linc chuckled lightly. "Bet she didn't take that very well," he said.

I let out a loud laugh. "Now why would you think that?" I asked sarcastically. "No, she's going to tattle on me to you, so watch out."

"I think I've got it covered," he said and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I've only got a minute, but if you could tell LJ that I'm going to call him tomorrow-"

"I smashed his phone," I interrupted. "But I'll leave my disposable with him tomorrow. So, just call this number tomorrow."

"I'm not going to ask about his cell," Lincoln said oddly. "But, thank you Emma, for everything."

"You're welcome," I said lightly.

"You're biting your lips aren't you?" he asked with a bored tone.

"Not anymore," I laughed, letting my lip slip through my teeth.

Linc sighed and I let my smile drop from my face. "I've got to go," he grumbled.

"Okay," I said sadly.

"Thanks again, Em."

"Yeah," I nodded. "Stay safe, Linc."

"Bye, Emma." I frowned as I whispered goodbye and flipped my phone shut. I sighed and straightened up and went back to finishing my shopping.

"Alright, Kid," I laughed while stumbling into my apartment with at least 5 grocery bags on each arm. I kicked the door closed behind me and dumped the bags into the kitchen.

"I've got just about everything a teenage boy needs to survive," I laughed while double bolting my front door. I even used the chain, and I never do that.

LJ appeared from the living room and crossed his arms as he watched me unload the groceries. "Let's see…I got, like, 6 boxes of cereal; and I'm not joking," I said as he laughed. "Little pizza bites, crap for sandwiches, like 10 boxes of Mac and Cheese, Top Ramen, hotdogs, soda…oh, and all of my favorite ice creams," I listed while unpacking all of it onto the counters.

"Holy crap," he laughed as he came and stood next to me.

I took in a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah," I laughed. "I think it's the most food I've ever had in here."

I dumped the three different tubs of ice cream into his arms and smirked. "Freezer," I instructed.

"So, wanna tell me more about what happened to you and my dad?" LJ asked curiously while I tossed him a loaf of bread.

"You sure you want to hear about that?" I asked while stashing the Mac and Cheese in a cupboard.

"Yeah," he nodded while putting the soda in the fridge.

"We dated for about a year and I broke up with him so he could be with your mom," I said, easily twisting the truth. For his own sake, of course. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Don't change the subject," he laughed. I turned to him a quirked an eyebrow. "Fine, Mac and Cheese with Hotdogs," he answered.

I looked at him and shook my head. "You're more like your dad than I thought," I laughed. "We used to make that after school all the time."

"So where does my mom come into this story?" LJ asked as he jumped up and sat on the counter next to the stove.

"I met your mom when I was a senior in high school. She was friends with Veronica," I smiled.

"No way," he said in surprise. "My mom and Veronica hated each other!"

I nodded and poured a box of macaroni noodles into a pot of boiling water. "Yeah, that was after she and your dad got together. Veronica never took lightly to girls he dated."

"Okay," he nodded and crossed his arms. "But you still haven't told me why you broke up with him."

"Nothing gets past you, kid," I chuckled. I stepped back and leaned against the opposite counter. "It was some time after we had met your mom that some…_things _happened and it made me think that maybe your dad and I shouldn't be together-"

"Did he cheat on you?" LJ's eyebrows shot up.

"No," I shook my head. "Never. But anyways, I knew your mom liked him and I thought that she would be good for him. She was in college and she knew what she wanted and she was ambitious. I was still in high school…I thought, at the time, that I was holding your dad back. So I let him go…"

"You regret it don't you?" he asked while glancing up from his lap.

I shrugged indifferently. "Yes and no. Yes because I've always loved your dad; No because now we have you and you're dad loves you more than anything, and I think you're a pretty awesome kid," I smiled and nudged his arm and took the macaroni off the stove.

"Chop up some hotdogs for me?" I asked while straining the water out. LJ nodded and hopped off the counter, heading for the fridge.

"Do you get to see him a lot?" LJ asked, not taking his eyes off the hotdogs. "My dad, I mean."

I sighed sadly and shook my head. "No, I've only seen him twice in nearly 7 months," I said as I finished stirring up the Mac and Cheese.

"But can't you see him during visitation?" he asked while putting the hotdogs into the microwave.

"If they knew I was close with your dad and Mike, I would probably lose my job," I sighed while pouring the cheesy noodles into separate bowls.

"It must be hard," he said while dishing hotdog chunks into our bowls. We migrated in silence to the living room.

"Yeah, but I have faith things will be better," I smiled lightly while shoveling in a forkful. I looked over to LJ and sighed.

"This is a lot harder for you, LJ. I'm really sorry for everything that's happening," I told him honestly.

LJ shrugged indifferently. "It's not your fault; you don't need to be sorry," he said quietly.

"LJ…" I paused and turned to him. "What happened?"

He stiffened and fiddled with his fork before glancing my way. "These two guys, in suits, came to my house," he frowned and cleared his throat. "I was able to get a picture of one of the guys on my cell phone, but that's gone now."

I sighed, feeling slightly guilty. "Sorry, LJ… but if I hadn't tossed the phone, we'd both be locked up right now."

LJ nodded lightly. "I know," he nearly whispered.

I set my bowl down on the coffee table in front of us. "Listen LJ," I said while turning to him. "I believe that you were set up… and I'm pretty sure it was the same people who set your dad up."

LJ stayed silent for a moment and slowly started shaking. My heart wrenched as I saw tears flow from his eyes. I grabbed his bowl and put it with mine before hugging him tightly.

"They killed my mom; I saw her," he cried while gripping my back tightly. "She- blood was everywhere."

My chin quivered roughly as I rubbed his back. "I know," I whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"I just want to see my dad," he said sadly as he pulled away from me and wiped the back of his arm across his face.

"I know you do," I said sympathetically. "But if you go anywhere near Fox River, they'll take you in."

"It just so not fair," he said angrily. I sighed and got up. I dug my disposable phone from my purse and set it on the coffee table in front of him.

"You're dad is going to call for you on this phone tomorrow," I told him. "The only people with the number for that phone are Veronica, your dad, and your Uncle Mike."

LJ looked at me oddly before sniffing and grabbing the phone. "Alright," he said slowly while flipping it around in his hand.

"I wish there was something more I could do for you, LJ, but for now that's the best I've got."


End file.
